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Goanet mourns the passing of Jorge de Abreu Noronha in Portugal - Nov 27/07
http://tinyurl.com/2dk2bl
http://tinyurl.com/29kpdx
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I thought i could read something interesting on the above topic as it is a very
important day for many , those who are aware of the disease as well as those
totally ignorant.
Bonefacio
UN marks World AIDS Day - 'a disease unlike any other'
New York, Dec 1 (DPA) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for an end to the
stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, saying it remains the biggest challenge in
fighting the disease that has infected tens of millions of people.
World AIDS Day Dec 1 each year brings together organisations that have been
fighting the disease that has killed more than 25 million people since the
1980s.
The millions of people infected and living with the AIDS virus bear the stigma
of the disease, Ban said Friday.
'Overcoming stigma remains one of our biggest challenges,' Ban said. 'It is the
single barrier to public action on AIDS. It is one of the reasons why the
epidemic continues to wreak its devastation around the world.'
He said HIV/AIDS is 'unlike any other' disease because it is also a social and
human rights issue, and an economic issue, targeting young adults at a time
they can contribute to economic development, intellectual growth and
childrearing.
The UN has called for halting the spread of the disease by 2015, but some
countries have succeeded more than others in implementing national programmes
in fighting AIDS.
'We have made tangible and remarkable progress on all these fronts,' he said.
'But we must do more.'
'On World AIDS Day, let us show the leadership it takes to live up to our
responsibility,' Ban urged UN members.
The Unaids programme and World Health Organisation said in Geneva in November
that more than 33 million people are currently living with HIV, the virus that
causes AIDS, down 16 percent from last year's 39.5 million, after the two
organisations revised the numbers.
Around 2.5 million new people will have been infected and 2.1 million will have
died of AIDS in 2007.
Unaids said the decline in AIDS cases, which has been seen in the last two
years, was in part due to the life prolonging effects of antiretroviral drugs
therapy and to the success of HIV programmes.
Unaids Executive Director Peter Piot said in Geneva: 'These improved data
present us with a clearer picture of the AIDS epidemic, one that reveals both
challenges and opportunities.
'Unquestionably, we are beginning to see a return on investment, new HIV
infections and mortality are declining and the prevalence of HIV levelling,'
Piot said. 'But with more than 6,800 new infections and over 5,700 deaths each
day due to AIDS we must expand our efforts in order to significantly reduce the
impact of AIDS worldwide.'
